The four Australian banks at the core of the ongoing debate about opening up Apple Pay in the country have narrowed down their demands after being snubbed by the country's competition regulator, and are now solely focusing on opening access to iPhone and Apple Watch NFC technology.
The VP in charge of Apple Pay, Jennifer Bailey, criticized hold-out Australian banks in an interview published on Friday, arguing that they were too quick to jump to legal action rather than talk with Apple.
As Apple fights off regulatory attacks from Australia's "big three" banks in a bid to widen regional Apple Pay adoption, major international brands ING and Macquarie on Friday local time promised to support the digital payments system in the near future.
Commerce company Square has launched a new set of tools to help medium-sized businesses manage their affairs, with Square for Retail combining a point-of-sale app with other important business functions, including managing employees and inventory.
As part of its regular expansion, Apple has added 27 more banks and credit unions to its list of institutions that support Apple Pay.
Displacing former leader PayPal, Apple Pay is now the most commonly accepted mobile payment platform among U.S. merchants, according to newly-published survey data.
Apple has complained to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission over the resistance of major banks in the country using Apple Pay, with a recent filing claiming a request to open up access to the iPhone's NFC controller would effectively allow banks to avoid using Apple Pay entirely.
Hands Free, a pilot app from Google that let customers perform mobile payments in stores without needing to present their iPhone or Android smartphone at the checkout, will shut down next month after almost a year of testing.
Apple's planned deployment of Apple Pay in Taiwan is "coming soon," according to an update on the company's website, with seven banks planned as initial launch partners.
Apple Pay did extremely well in the December quarter, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed this week, growing transactions 500 percent year-over-year thanks in part to the platform now being in over a dozen markets worldwide.
Apple and Square on Monday announced a partnership which will let U.S. businesses process over $12,000 in Apple Pay transactions for free, saving up to $350 in Square costs so long as merchants set up a marketing kit designed to promote Apple's platform.
Apple Pay's usage is continuing its steadily rise in popularity, according to a report on credit and debit card transactions, with use of the Apple payment platform growing by approximately 50 percent in transaction volume within 12 months.
Apple has updated its worldwide roster of banks and credit unions supporting Apple Pay, adding 21 more institutions — though as usual, the vast majority of these are based in the U.S.
Cashless and mobile transaction company USA Technologies has announced it plans to integrate its MORE loyalty and payroll deduction payment platform with Apple Pay, allowing users of the service to ultimately pay at more than 300,000 self-service machines and other venues across the U.S.
Apple this week expanded support for its quickly growing Apple Pay service with the addition of 17 new U.S. banks and credit unions.
Apple Japan has posted a new video ad for the iPhone 7, pushing one of the unique local advantages of using Apple Pay.
Apple Pay support grew on Wednesday with support from a few more companies, including United Airlines, domain service GoDaddy, and donation platform Causemo.
Verizon won't be joining other U.S. carriers in pushing out a "kill" update for the fire-prone and now defunct Samsung Galaxy Note 7, according to an announcement. In the meantime, Apple has allegedly rejected a "Samsung Pay Mini" app at the iOS App Store, possibly deflecting competition for Apple Pay.
Minutes after Apple Pay chief Jennifer Bailey offered a brief update on Apple's payments product at Re/code's Code Commerce conference, Square CEO Jack Dorsey on Tuesday announced immediate integration with Square Cash virtual cards.
Headlining Re/code's Code Commerce conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Apple Pay chief Jennifer Bailey said 35 percent of U.S. retailers now accept the company's fledgling payments service, a figure expected to grow substantially in 2017.
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Mike Wuerthele
Roger Fingas
Mikey Campbell
Malcolm Owen
AppleInsider Staff
